The first memory of my son was having him lay across my stomach after being stapled.  Andrew was my second, c-section baby.  He appeared "normal" in everyway.  The first thing I remember my husband, Ron, doing was pulling on Andrew's leg.

"See how strong he is!" Ron said proudly.

WOW!  He was elated at having a son.  In between working at two jobs, he was constantly at the hospital checking up on Andrew and me.

After bringing Andrew home from the hospital, Ron continued keeping an eye him.  On days when he worked a late shift as a security guard, he would always check on Andrew to make sure he was breathing.  For some reason, Ron had a premonition something would happen to Andrew.  I never worried, because I knew Andrew was fine.  He was not going to die of some unknown disease.  I have always had an intuition for such things, which I believed I inherited from both of my parents.

As a child growing up in a rural area known as "Slab Town," in Plant City, Florida, I paid attention to what happened on the street.  Since I was the kind of child constantly sneaking out of the yard to go exploring, I had to keep my instincts sharp.  It was easy to come across stray dogs and snakes in the grass, a leering stranger or someone I knew but did not trust.  It was always a game of having a watchful eye and a quick tongue.  I learned to read people very easily, especially teachers.  In school, if one did not have the money, one did not receive the same treatment.  It was even worse for those who showed any form of disability.  They were listed as being really dumb.

more to come...